


Princess

by Amintadefender



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types
Genre: Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-06
Updated: 2017-12-21
Packaged: 2018-07-12 18:04:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 17,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7116850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amintadefender/pseuds/Amintadefender
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hello everyone. This story happens to be uploaded to FFN with 16 chapters at this time. As I edit the earlier chapters I will slowly repost them here. If you don't care for the occasional typo and comma mistake you can read more at FFN. </p><p>This is a work in progress and I will continue writing new chapters as I edit. Have fun reading.</p>
    </blockquote>





	1. Chance Encounter

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone. This story happens to be uploaded to FFN with 16 chapters at this time. As I edit the earlier chapters I will slowly repost them here. If you don't care for the occasional typo and comma mistake you can read more at FFN. 
> 
> This is a work in progress and I will continue writing new chapters as I edit. Have fun reading.

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

Most people in the galaxy had a suspicion that Darth Vader disliked politics. Most people on Coruscant knew that to be true and had a suspicion that he disliked the Senate. Senators on the other hand, knew that Darth Vader hated the Senate and every living being within it, with the possible exception of the stormtroopers. Perhaps it is this knowledge which led senators to instruct their children to stay away from Darth Vader. Despite their obvious existent or even nonexistent loyalty to the Empire, the senators told their children that Darth Vader was a monster that would kill them if they ever bothered him. Any child that had doubts would soon see them dispelled as they visited their parents at the Senate and saw Darth Vader prowling the corridors like a creature from a nightmare. One of Darth Vader's personal mysteries would always be why there were no children around the Senate, despite hearing of the periodic complaint from stormtroopers about the snobby brats. It is of course expected that over time the unexpected occurs.

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

Darth Vader was in a fouler mood than usual and the despicable weather did not help, as it caused his artificial limbs to dig into his bones. Senators fled from his sight and he smiled grimly under his mask, before a scowl settled on his features again. The constant hissing of the respirator annoyed him and he wished it would cease, in fact he sometimes contemplated what would happen if all the functions of the suit would cease to work, so he could reside in true quietness, but that would mean death. Death was peace and he did not deserve that after all the atrocities he committed. He had murdered his wife and his unborn child. The deaths of children lay at his hand. There was nothing left in life for him. He didn't deserve an opportunity for forgiveness. He lived to serve his master and perhaps he could earn the right for peace, perhaps he could endure enough agony to cleanse his soul. The pain would be punishment for him, but yet it was not enough. The Force darkened around him as he allowed himself a moment to grieve for the lives lost at his hand, especially his wife and child.

Recalling his wife's beloved Senate, Vader sneered. The Senate had become even more corrupt after the Republic fell, although his master had the authority to veto and pass any bill. Earlier this morning, he recalled reading the latest reports and the update to the Senate rules. The new Senate rules prohibited physical fighting much to the stormtroopers relief. Darth Vader briefly wondered how many fights had to be broken up by stormtroopers between individual politicians. If his master thought the new rule applied to him, then he would be sorely disappointed as Vader felt no reason to not let the politicians know his displeasure with them. Vader was once more reminded of the cause for his particularly foul mood. He had wasted his entire day listening to the incessant blathering between the politicians as they tried to alter military funding. The thinly veiled insults didn't bother Vader, but the impudence of the senators to think that they could question him and defile his name was astounding. Suffice to say a certain planet would have to elect a new senator. A frown marred Darth Vader's face, his master would once again be displeased. Caught in the thought of how to appease his master, he nearly plowed through three people in front of him. Stopping himself in time the Sith Lord glared at them from behind the mask. In front of him stood two young men in imperial officer uniform and cowering in fear between them, struggled a ten year old girl.

She ceased her struggling when he peered down at her, "What is going on here?"

"We are taking her to be processed. She attacked us my lord," said one of the men.

Probing the minds of the two men in front of him he felt their lust. It took all of his willpower to not choke the two men before him. Despite his monotone voice the two men quivered in fear, "Your names?"

"Admiral Richmond"

The other man swallowed slightly and puffed his chest out, "Captain Darian of the-"

Darth Vader applied some pressure on his throat cutting him off in mid sentence the warning clear, "And what possibly could a ten year old girl have done to you?"

Richmond muttered something.

"What was that Admiral?"

Gathering his courage he said, "Like I said, she attacked us…. She kicked me in the privates."

"The rules prohibit fighting and she must be punished my lord" exclaimed the captain.

Darth Vader wanted to slaughter the two incompetent men before him, but reigned his temper in. Besides him felt the young girl's determination to be strong and her overwhelming fear. In spite of himself he was impressed by her ability to hide it.

"You are dismissed, I will find the proper punishment for the girl."

Captain Darian attempted to protest, "My lord I think we should"

"Do you doubt my competence"

Realising he was stepping on dangerous ground the captain stepped down, "No, my lord"

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" threatened Darth Vader. He watched with great satisfaction as the two men scampered away.

Turning to the girl he observed her and cursed his tinted optics. She was looking around frantically as if trying to escape, "Don't try to run girl, it would be stupid."

Once again Darth Vader felt a wave of fear strike him through the force. He wondered if all children in the Senate would act like this when he met them. He began to walk away to his office and stopped once again as he realized the girl wasn't moving. He seriously hoped that she wasn't going to try his nonexistent patience.

"I don't have all day girl," he warned

The girl refused to move. Growling in irritation Darth Vader strode up to her and grabbed her wrist and began to pull her along. He mentally thanked the Force that there was no one watching him pull a struggling ten year old behind him. That would be incredibly embarrassing.

"Slow down" came the irritated voice of his unwilling companion.

Amused, Darth Vader slowed down to allow her to settle into a jog instead of a sprint to keep up with his long strides. Part of him felt irrationally pleased that she wasn't cowed by the fear that she felt for him.

Darth Vader finally reached his office, where he would not have to fear possible public scrutiny. His office was decorated in black and white with the imperial logo, but was otherwise bare except for the basic necessities and lacked a personal touch. Walking over to his desk he sat down and relieved the pressure of his joints.

"Sit" he commanded the girl, pointing to the chair across of him.

As she sat down Darth Vader wondered what he would do. He really should have planned this out because if he had he wouldn't have had a ten year old girl sitting in his office and him not knowing what to do. It seemed that the impulsive tendencies of Anakin Skywalker were not all gone. He could already hear his old master berating him in exasperation. Hurriedly he tried to push that thought away and its painful connections. Calling onto his anger for assistance he found himself asking why his former master had betrayed him. Annoyed, he again turned his attention to the young girl before him and considered his options. A data pad to his right beeped signalling a new message. Using the Force he lifted the pad over him to stare at all the work he had to catch up on. Stupid meeting. Reading through the new messages an idea began to form. Glancing at the chile he noticed that she had been sitting there silently for half an hour looking like she wanted to say something.

"What is it?"

She bit her lip and looked down, "Are you going to eat me?"

Darth Vader sat still wondering if he had heard her correctly. Eat her? He would not allow himself to to dwell on that thought

"No, that is a ridiculous idea."

She stared at him unbelievingly.

Picking up another tablet he asked, "What is your name?"

"Leia"

The small name caused his heart to stop as memories that he had buried resurfaced.

" _I will name my boy Luke, Anakin" said Padm_ é

_Anakin laughed, "But I know it is a girl and we will name her Leia, my love."_

_Padmé swatted him, "You and the force. I call it mother's intuition, it's a boy."_

Closing his eyes he suppressed the memory, he wasn't worthy of it.

"A beautiful name," he told Leia and he meant it.

His heart pained him and he wondered if perhaps this was the work of the Force. But if he had a child it would have been a boy, like his wife has said. Looking at the datapad he passed it to her, "Can you sort these messages?"

"Yes" came her soft reply, "How should I sort them?"

"Useless, senate proposals, complaints, and urgent" pausing as the respirator hissed, "Sort complaints by senators, general populace, military officers, and those from storm troopers"

Leia nodded and she began to work. Vader watched her for a while as her fingers zipped across the datapad faster than he would have been able to. He grabbed a different datapad and the two worked in silence.

A while later the door opened and Vader looked up in annoyance at the interruption. The first thing he felt was Leia's fear as she stared at Captain Darian.

"What!" he barked.

That man was annoying him and he would definitely inspect the man's file and perhaps even file a complaint. The captain would not remain captain for very long and he would make sure that the rest of his life would be miserable... or he could kill the man. While as tempting the option sounded, he didn't have a sufficient reason to kill the man. The Moffs would have a field day if he began to kill imperials outside of his own domain.

"I was wondering what the brats punishment was my lord" replied Captain Darian imperiously.

The word "brat" caused something to rise in Darth Vader. The feeling was strange and foreign, but it refused to allow him to ignore the vulgar man in front of him. When the last part of the sentence registered, Darth Vader snapped. The temperature in the room dropped a couple degrees as he walked up to the man a possessive fury enveloping him. The captain looked around desperately realizing that he had crossed a line and may die today.

"Do you question my judgement?" Darth Vader thundered.

"No" squeaked the Captain as he shook his head.

Calling on the force Vader lifted him up against a wall. The man clawed at his throat as he felt an invisible hand choking him. His feet left the ground. Darth Vader looked at the man's face and the words left his mouth.

"I find your lack of faith disturbing Captain. Do you not think that I can sufficiently punish her?" he paused and the room became colder, "It would be so simple to break your little petty neck. You wouldn't want that would you? The so called brat is going to be punished and I think you will find this punishment sufficient, for the next two weeks she will be assisting from when the senate opens until it closes. I am sure her help will prove more useful than your presence. You on the other and will not be returning to the Senate, ever. Do I make myself clear?"

The man fell to the floor gasping for breath. Ten minutes later he would be on a shuttle leaving Coruscant.

Darth Vader turned around to look at Leia. She was sitting in the chair with her eyes wide open in fear. Slowly the temperature in the room began to increase, but the girl wouldn't stop shaking in fear. Darth Vader felt like banging his helmet against the wall, he shouldn't have lost control of his temper like that.

Checking the time he noticed that the Senate would be closing in a few minutes, "You may go Leia, will you be able to find your parents safely?"

"Yes" she said softly.

Darth Vader stared at her as she began to walk cautiously to the door, "You will be here tomorrow when the Senate opens, understand? I have two rules you will be following, You will do as I say and you will not tell people what you are doing or what happens while you are working for me. If you do, I will know."

"Understood"

"Good, you may go" he said turning around and sitting back down at his desk.

Alone he wondered what had possessed him to select such a punishment. He could have simply set her on cafeteria duty and be done with it. For some insane reason he wished to insure that no one would ever hurt her. The words had been spoken in anger and there was no reason why he would want a ten year old running around him all day. Perhaps he had said the words because she was a decent worker and did an excellent job sorting through his messages. That must be it, because he would never be able to admit that he wanted a ten year old daughter, the age his son would have been. His explanation though did not explain why the force surged around him and urged him to look at her and protect her. Part of him worried that he had been too harsh and should have comforted the child, yet that would be improper he was a Sith Lord. Another part of him whispered that it was what Padmé would have wanted, to comfort the child and protect her. Perhaps he could redeem himself to his dead wife by being kind to the young soul. Despite his hope for redemption though, it didn't change that he didn't deserve it.

Looking up from the datapad, he noticed a crack running along the surface of the desk as if something had fallen on it. A small jewel lay innocently on the table top. Darth Vader stared at it in confusion, the force required to damage the desk with the jewel could not have been attained by a child. He must have used the force and levitated it in his anger. The jewel was pointed and if dropped from a sufficient height and the correct angle could have damaged the desk. That was the only possible explanation.

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

Bail Organa was worried, in fact he was panicking. He had been worried when his daughter hadn't been there to greet him when he left the Senate session. Despite his worry he thought that perhaps she had lost track of time by playing with some newly made friends. She never seemed to make friends and was always so lonely but as the minutes had ticked by he felt something was wrong. He had asked his colleagues if they had seen her and even asked the other children. No one had seen her. He had called his wife, Breha, worriedly before he had to go to the following Senate session. She had contacted so many of her friends, who asked their friends, but no one knew where his daughter was. Dejected Bail Organa sat in his office, desperately calling other people and beginning to file a missing child report. The Senate was closing in a couple minutes and he knew he had to leave, but he was feeling desperate.

Unable to do anything else in the remaining time Bail organa stepped through the door into the empty hall when he saw a flash of white. His young daughter was hugging him as if she would never see him again and sobbing into his shirt. Gently he kneeled down and hugged her, "Let's go home Leia". He frowned as he noticed her daughter shivering. Taking her hand he led her outside the Senate building. Careful not show his anger, he vowed to murder whoever had scared his daughter so badly that she would be in such a state.

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?


	2. Running

**Here is the next chapter and I hope you enjoy it. Thank you to all the people who reviewed, followed, and favorited. Reviews are incredibly helpful to an author’s moral, so thank you. When Leia Organa is actually related to Jar-Jar, I will own Star Wars. Thankfully that will never be true.**

 

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

 

CT-8721 stood in the empty Senate building and closed his eyes bored. His shift would end soon, but he had to wait until the first Senate meeting. The doors to the Senate opened and he watched sourly as chatting Senators began to trickle in. Every Senator wore extravagant clothing and paid the stormtrooper no mind. CT-8721 felt partly relieved that to the general population he looked like every other stormtrooper, not the clone he was.

 

Throughout the empire a general dislike of clones harbored in people’s minds. The clones were often treated no better than a droid; to the populace they were no better than droids. Sometimes CT-8721 felt like a droid, he was programmed to obey orders and operate with undying loyalty. He was like a glorified droid, yet he got less respect. Droids were precious and expensive, the better the droid, the longer it survived. A clone on the other hand was met met with sneers wherever he went as people saw them disposable, despite being a dying race. Normal stormtroopers had separate barracks from the clones and were often promoted to officers. Yet every recruited stormtrooper is nothing but cannon fodder. A clone may be treated like cannon fodder, but they survived. 

 

CT-8721 turned his attention back to the Senators and watched as they spared him no glance. A small child ran up him and blew a raspberry while his mother watched him carefully, but did not reprimand him. The clone gazed at the boy unimpressed and still, show no reaction was the motto that ran through his head _. _ The boy left to annoy another trooper. Sighing in relief he turned to look outside the glass doors of the Senate building and the Senators landing there. Another Senator was landing.

 

Frowning the Senator stepped into the Senate and held onto his daughter's hand. A nearby female Senator walked up to him and turned her attention to the girl. The clone gazed uncaring at the girl he perceived to be nothing more than a spoilt brat. Yet there was something about the girl that drew his attention, perhaps it was the way she was looking around or her white figure that darted around incoming Senators with ease. He was briefly reminded of the Jedi commanders that he had shortly served under, a long time ago.

 

“Leia!” came the shout from the father as the white figure tore free and began to run, “Come back Leia”. CT-8721 stood a little straighter as the girl, Leia headed toward him, her father panting behind her. She was running through the crowd, avoiding grabbing hands and coming straight at him. The clone positioned himself in her trajectory, she would not be able to stop in time.

 

Leia, as he had begun calling her in his mind ran straight into him and he grabbed her little wrists. As he stared at her face he noticed the panicked look in her eyes. 

“Let go!” she cried and began to pull away. The trooper remained unfazed and stepped closer to her, not allowing her to get away, “What is wrong?”

“Let go!” she insisted, “I’m late.” Her mouth clamped shut as if she had revealed a terrible secret and he noticed the fear. He placed a calming hand on her shoulder, “Late for what?” Her father was closing in, “What are you doing Leia, have you lost your mind?” The girl looked at him and the clone was lying on his back. Standing up he noticed the fleeing girl rounding a corner. She was not getting away _ ,  _ and began to run after her.

 

Perhaps if Leia had been a little taller and had longer legs, she may have had a better chance. Either way a clone was designed to be physically fit and endurant and in a straight race the clone would have won hands down. Every minute let CT-8721 gain more ground on her. His voice felt rough from the yelling as he ordered people out of his way. The only reason he had not caught her was because the amount of people in the Senate. Leia had a distinct advantage, she never seemed to bump into people. He blamed it on luck and good spatial awareness. Despite his training, he did bump into people. She is just lucky, there can be no other reason. It was not possible for a child to have more spatial awareness than him. 

 

Running, he frowned slightly as he noticed the zig zagging route, she has no idea where she is going _. _ All of a sudden she stopped and he smiled, sure that she had given up. He did not expect her to run towards him. Part of him was shocked and too late his brain registered the importance. Leia was now behind him. Growling under his helmet he took after her and nearly ran into her father as he skidded to a halt to take a right turn. The senator looked pain as he saw her receding figure, “Leia, stop!” CT-8721 spared him an annoyed glance, she was not going to stop. He took off at a run again with a slow Senator trailing him. 

 

The hallways in this part of the Senate were emptier as they passed old offices and he was steadily gaining ground. Then she took a right.  _ T _ hat is where Lord Vader’s office is! He will kill her if she runs into him _.  _ He began to run faster in hopes of catching Leia in time, “Stop, don’t go there!” Predictably, she didn’t stop. Ahead he could see Lord Vader exiting his office, appearing to be in a fouler mood than usual. _ She is going to die. _ Leia seemed to notice the danger as well and came to a sudden halt. She stood fearfully in front of Lord Vader and the clone stopped besides her.

 

He stood in front of Lord Vader and profusely apologized, “I am so sorry Lord Vader, she seems to think she is late for something. Please she didn’t mean anything!”

“She is late,” Lord Vader said flatly, “Leia, I apologize, I seem to be partially at fault. Wait in my office.” Leia turned to Lord Vader with her mouth hanging open, just as shocked as the clone. His respect for Lord Vader rose even more and puzzle pieces began to click into place.The Stormtrooper inclined his head, “My apologies my lord, she did not say anything.” He paused momentarily, “Has the first Senate session begun?”

“Yes” came the terse reply. He looked at the unwavering black mask from behind his own mask. Feeling brave, “May I be excused my lord? I believe my shift has ended.”

“You may”

“Thank you sir” he said and took off his mask. His lord didn’t comment on him being a clone, just tilted his head slightly in a sign of respect. CT-8721 saluted and walked away. Ahead of him he could see the girl’s father running towards him. The senator stopped in front of him, “Have you seen my daughter?” 

“A girl named Leia was just running through the Senate. She is in Lord Vader’s office” said a surprised clone. He watched intrigued as the color drained from the senator’s face. He wondered if Leia told anyone that she had an appointment with Lord Vader. Of course she may have not been allowed to tell anyone and that is why she looked so upset when she slipped by saying she was late. What could require such secrecy though? The girl’s father walked silently past him. Figuring it was none of his business, the clone walked away without sparing a glance back to end his shift.

 

Walking through the Senate with his helmet under his arm was probably not the smartest thing. Yet, with his helmet on he looked as if he was on duty. A spitball landed on his face. Part of the clone was surging with anger, but he simply wiped his face and continued on ignoring the sneers and looks of disgust from the people around him. At last he rounded a corner and was out of sight. His destination was the room at the end of the corridor, where he could rest and wait for his next shift. A moff exited one  of the offices and looked at him with a sneer. CT-8721 felt his guard rise at the disdainful look he was receiving. He looked straight ahead and continued walking. “Wait” came the call behind him. He turned around slowly and glared at the moff approaching him. The moff stared at him sneering, “What are you doing out of uniform, clone?”

“Returning from my shift, sir”

“Right...Well there seems to be shortage of troopers. I will need you to stand guard in front of my office for the rest of the day. I better not find you out of uniform again”

 

CT-8721 swallowed his anger as he stood guard under his helmet. He had spent the entire night guarding the Senate, it seemed he would have to devote the day to guarding the senate as well. He is just a clone after all, it is not like he needed sleep or sustenance. Or even need to use the bathroom.

 

His mood remained terrible throughout the rest of the morning. It didn’t help that there constantly seemed to be people checking if he was there. He hated the empire. It was corrupt. All the officers were incompetent. The emperor ignores all the hard work that the clones have done. Wait… hating the empire went against his programming. Although Lord Vader is a man worthy of his loyalty. Perhaps he could be something more than just a clone.

 

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

 

There were occasion when Darth Vader felt like an idiot. Normally he just ignored the part of him saying he was doing something wrong and tried to enforce some morals onto him. Sometimes though, his conscious brought up very good points which he could not ignore. 

 

That is why Darth Vader sat in his office wondering what he had been thinking the day before. The Senate would be opening in a couple hours and despite all her attempts Leia could not possibly arrive at his office in time. The Sith lord would have to offer an apology and Sith lords never offered apologies. There was also the fact that her parents may simply flat out refuse to take her to the Senate. He would. Of course, she would have to show up or he would drag her screaming to the Senate if she refused. It simply would not do if people saw him getting soft. He also did not know her last name. It would take hours to track down the child with only knowing her first name. Senators were registered in the data banks, but their personal information, such as family, was not included. 

 

A small alarm beeped signifying the Senate had opened and Darth Vader looked up from his holopad. He would give Leia an hour to show up, otherwise he would have to begin searching. He continued working and felt his annoyance rise with every report he read.  _ Rebels _ . How regional governors could allow for such treacherous activity to arise below their noses was beyond him. Every year dissent seemed to arise and could probably have been avoided, if the governors did the job that they were paid to do. 

 

Annoyed by reading the reports, Darth Vader looked up from his work. He definitely did not have time to look for the girl. There was too much work. Groaning to himself, he got up and walked to the door. The Force was pulsing around him as if attempting to tell him something. Frowning to himself, even the Force was calling for his attention today, he stepped into the hallway. Out of the corner of his visor he saw a little figure running towards him,  _ Leia. _

 

He stopped and looked at the girl as she came to a standstill before him. He could feel the fear swarming around her and wondered about the cause of it. His attention turned to the stormtrooper besides her who was babbling apologies for her. He felt rather curious about his presence. Despite his curiosities, he was a busy person and could not dally hear. “She is late,” Lord Vader said flatly. He turned towards the young girl and gathered his courage. He really needed to work on his communications skills, if he was afraid of giving an apology to a child,  “Leia, I apologize, I seem to be partially at fault. Wait in my office.” He felt rather pleased about the shock running through Leia and the stormtrooper. It was amusing. The trooper turned to him, his nervousness clear in the Force, “My apologies my lord, she did not say anything.” Pausing momentarily he asked, “Has the first Senate session begun?”

“Yes” came the terse reply. 

“May I be excused my lord? I believe my shift has ended.”

“You may”

“Thank you sir”

 

Darth Vader watched the receding clone in contemplation. Clones were different from normal people with their devotedness and skills. A simple order could cause a clone to kill his best friend, but not willingly. Clones were people though, and outside the realm of command, one could often tell which officers a clone would happily murder in their sleep. A small frown stretched over his scarred face, the respect, or lack of respect that clones received was unacceptable. He would rather march into battle with a bunch of clone behind him than some stormtroopers produced by the Academy. The  _ normal  _ stormtroopers were often more stupid than a Hutt. Smart people went on to become officers, admirals, and commanders, but the truly smart people fled to a little unnoticeable planet and hid from the Emperor. Then there was the fact that stormtroopers considered the target area to be a speeder. Stormtroopers had to be the worst marksmen ever. A clone on the other hand, hardly ever missed. It was a waste to station a clone in the Senate.

 

Darth Vader once again returned to his office and looked at Leia, who was standing next to his desk. The girls was an enigma. Her emotions hid behind a mask, but her fear was broadcasting through the Force. Yet, her hands were curled in tiny little fist as if ready to try and fight. An image flashed through his mind of his departed wife and how she would face her greatest fears fighting. Leia was sure to be a spitfire when she was older and probably disregard all rules. He just knew that she would be causing him trouble.

 

Darth Vader swallowed as he noticed Leia’s spike in fear and realized he had been staring at her for over a minute. He stepped in closer, “I am sorry Leia, I should have realized that it is impossible for you to get to my office in time. This is the only time I will ever tolerate tardiness.”

“Understood, sir”

“I will write a pass for you that will allow you to enter the Senate early enough to be at my office in time.” Darth Vader paused considering his options, “I also realize that you are not of the age where it is possible to transport yourself to the Senate. I will contact your parents so appropriate arrangements can be made.”

 

The holocom beeped signifying that someone was at the door. Darth Vader closed his eyes in frustration and pressed the button for the door. The door slid open revealing Senator Organa. Darth Vader glared at him for interrupting his talk. The Senator stared at him defiantly and stepped slightly to the side to look around the towering blockade in front of him. “What do you want?” snarled Darth Vader. He smirked in satisfaction as he felt the spike of fear from the Senator. 

“I have come for my daughter, Darth Vader”

“Your daughter?” Darth Vader turned around to look at Leia. The girl was still standing and seemed to be avoiding her father’s eyes. Bail Organa shifted behind him and Darth Vader looked at the man. “I am very sorry for her interrupting you,” began the Senator, “I do not know what overcame her. I can assure you it will not happen again.” A sudden realization dawned onto the Sith lord. Leia, had apparently taken his instructions not to tell anyone very literal. A small plan of revenge began to form in his mind. “I was unaware she was your daughter Senator” He watched intrigued as the other man emitted another spike of fear. “Darth Vader, she is my daughter.”

“I am afraid I will need proof, after all I cannot have random Senators taking other parents’ children home.” The fear that he could feel from the other man was intoxicating.

 

Bail Organa swallowed nervously and looked at Leia, “What sort of proof do you require?”

“Her identification papers will be fine, until then I will be supervising her.” Senator Organa smirked and pulled out a couple papers from his coat pocket, “I believe these will be fine?” Darth Vader wordlessly summoned the papers to his hands as he began to look over them. The daughter of one of the Senators he most hated was in his office. A small word popped out to him.  _ Adopted.  _ It wasn’t the girl’s fault who her adopted father was and they didn’t actually share any genes. While he wouldn’t harm the child, the Senator did not know that. It would be a perfect form of torture for the man and would keep him from certain unfavorable plans for fear of him ending his daughter's life. He set a gloved mechanical hand on Leia's shoulder, "I am afraid you do not truly understand, she is staying with me."

"Excuse me?" came the panicked reply from her father.

"Yesterday she attacked an officer." The senator sent a disapproving look at his daughter before facing Darth Vader again, "She is just a child"

"That is why she isn't sitting in a holding cell."

"Then what do  _ you _ propose?"

"I don't  _ propose _ anything Senator. Your daughter's punishment will remain in my hands." 

"Is this necessary?" asked Bail Organa his fear palpable in the Force. Darth Vader remained unmoving, "You may pick your daughter up at the end of the day. Be sure to bring your daughter to the Senate for the next two weeks so she can be at my office by the time the Senate opens."

"And how is she to enter the Senate before it opens?"

"I will write her a pass" concluded Darth Vader. The door closed and he used the Force to lock it to keep a certain senator out.

 

Leia had taken a seat and was frowning at the Sith Lord. Annoyed, Darth Vader looked at her, "What?"

"I am not a child" she exclaimed crossing her arms over her chest glaring at him. He stared at her amused, "I believe you fulfill the definition of a child."

Grabbing a datapad he handed it to Leia, "I need you to deliver this." Leia nodded and accepted the datapad hesitantly. 

 

Darth Vader continued working and contemplated about the girl. She reminded him so much of Padmé, and he found it painful. The entire way she held herself reminded him of his wife.  _ Adopted. _ Perhaps she was related to the Nabberies. He would not try to find out her heritage though, it simply would be too painful. She was also happy with her current family. It would be cruel to tear her from her father, no matter how much he disliked the Senator. Since when were Sith Lords not cruel? It seemed ever since he saw a little child looking at him in fear. He, for the first time ever, did not want that fear.

 

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

 

Leia Organa was annoyed and as acquaintances of her father would remark, “Watch out.” Running messages was boring and she was hungry. Perhaps it may be that the data was too sensitive to be transmitted, but a droid could have easily done the job. No, instead she was running through the Senate trying to deliver every message as fast as possible, so Darth Vader wouldn’t be mad at her. Shame coursed through her body in admitting she was afraid of that  _ thing. _ Yet, that  _ thing _ could kill a person without touching them and towered over other people, his harsh breathing echoing through the room. Leia corrected herself, a thing could not breathe. Droids do not breathe. His entire presence demanded respect and unlike Threepio seemed to have no problem threatening people. Artoo was a little like that, but the astromech was always joking, besides he couldn’t do any harm. 

 

She began to assemble various ideas in her mind on how to achieve revenge. Pranks. Of course Leia would never perform any of the pranks. It was still amusing to imagine the Sith Lord covered in pink. Rounding the last corner she stopped in front of Moff Lewis’s office. Sighing dejectedly she palmed the door. 

 

Lewis was a dull man who had obviously not been favored by looks. He looked up at her when she walked in with a sneer, “The Senate is not a playground for children.”

Exasperated, “I have a message.”

“I am sure,” came the sarcastic response. He walked up to Leia and pushed her outside of the office. Leia glared at him angrily, “I have a message to deliver.”

“Well go back to your master and tell him not to send little girls” he sneered. 

“I do not have a master!” exclaimed Leia. She would not return to Darth Vader with the datapad in her hands. In the best case scenario she would be sent back, in the worst case she would die. Biting her lip, “The message is from Darth Vader.”

“I am sure girl. Now go!” With the last shout he pushed her back and Leia tumbled into the wall. Brushing herself she stood up and voiced her opinions icily, “Just because you lack decorum doesn’t mean you have to inflict your distaste on others. Or maybe you just enjoy lording your power over other people because it is the only thing of worth that you are able to lord over people.” Leia paused and continued sweetly, “Should I get you a Caf before I hand you the message? I am sure Darth Vader would appreciate the wait.” A vein in the moff’s forehead began to bulge, “Now listen here girl, I will not be disrespected this way!”

“Is there a problem” interrupted a stormtrooper.

“No!,” shouted Lewis, “Get back to your post clone!”

“I would just like to tell you that the girl can quite possibly be sent by Darth Vader as she was earlier in his office.”

“Get. Going. You idiot. CLONE!” roared Lewis. The clone trooper turned around and Leia vaguely noticed as the moff rounded on her that he wasn’t returning to his post. In fact the stormtrooper reminded her of the one chasing her earlier. Caught in her thoughts, she didn’t see the hand coming towards her. 

 

Leia found herself pressed against the wall as an angry face looked at her. Vaguely she thought how ludicrous it would be if he and Darth Vader stood next to each other both covered in pink. A small giggle escaped her mouth. Moff Lewis’s face contorted in rage and he threw her on the ground. “Lewis!” shouted another person walking on the scene, “What do you think you are doing?”

Keeping his hands on Leia, “Teaching this brat a lesson.” The stranger appeared to be an imperial cadet. His posture was firm and rigid, while his uniform remained pristine. He looked impassively at the Moff unimpressed, “Leave the girl alone, no fighting in the Senate is allowed.”

“Don’t tell me what I can do cadet. Who do you think you are?”

“Firmus Piett, sir” the cadet declared boldly as he stood in front of the enrage Moff and Leia. 

 

Leia watched fearfully as the Lewis glared the cadet down, “Mind your own business.”

Calm, Piett replied, “It becomes my business when innocents are a stake.”

“I can get you bumped into stormtrooper training.”

“Gladly, if it is for doing my job.”

“Your job is to follow my orders!” roared Lewis and he lunged at Leia. 

Leia backed against the wall when a cold feeling began to wash over her. “Vader,” she whispered in fear. Her little form trembled in fear as the Moff advanced on her having knocked the cadet on the floor. Just as he was about to throw a punch at Leia, a blast sent him flying into the far wall. 

 

The hiss of the respirator continued steadily and ominously. The black, armored clad man walked over to the trembling Moff, “When I send my assistant to deliver a message, I should not have to wait because of an idiot’s ego.”

 

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

 

**Vader to the rescue! Poor Vader, he is so confused. I wonder when he will start suspecting that the princess is force sensitive or his daughter. May be a while… Next chapter may take a while to post as I will be a little busier than usual. Goodbye for now and leave a review on how you want the story to go.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Accidentally Posted the Wrong Chapter Earlier*


	3. Developments

****? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

CT-8721 had not expected that his day would turn out so, interesting. In fact had anyone asked him what his day today would be like, he would have said the same old routine as always. Instead he had chased a young girl, who had an appointment with Lord Vader, got assigned an extra shift from some snotty Moff, then alerted Lord Vader that a certain Moff was harassing a girl claiming to run messages for him, and now he was waiting in Lord Vader’s office after his Lord had stormed out. If he thought about it, his entire day seemed to revolve around Lord Vader. CT-8721 was not going to complain though, this day, despite all the confusion he was feeling, was among one of his best days. The only thing better was marching into battle.

The door slid open and Lord Vader entered. In front of him was Leia and he had a firm hand on her shoulder. CT-8721 felt a shudder run down his spine as Lord Vader looked at him. “Trooper, you did the right thing by bringing the situation to my attention.”

Involuntarily a smile began to creep on his face. It had been such a long time since he had been complimented. Compliments from his brothers did not count. He turned his head and looked at Leia.

She was curled up slightly in a chair, her feet dirtying the shine of the chair. He gazed slightly at the rest of the office. It was bare and seemed to contain only the bare necessities and emitted a harsh feeling. Part of him pitied Leia, Lord Vader was not an easy person to be around and even his office seemed to reflect his dark mood. 

The clone redirected his attention to Lord Vader, curious why he had not been dismissed. Lord Vader seemed to be studying him and there was a small uncomfortable feeling in the back of his mind. His eyes widened in sudden realization as he remembered that Lord Vader could supposedly read minds.

“You are very astute,” rumbled Darth Vader and CT-8721 swallowed nervously. It was a great honor to be in front of Lord Vader, but the man was dangerous and his life was surely forfeit if he had somehow displeased Lord Vader.

“At ease, I am not displeased. I am just evaluating you for another position.”

CT-8721 cringed slightly in embarrassment, the man in front of him could read minds and he would do well to remember that. Pride rose in chest. Lord Vader, maybe, would personally reassign him. “I am currently doing the night shift in the Senate my lord.”

Curious, “Then what were you doing patrolling near Moff Lewis’s office?”

The nervousness returned. “I was leaving the building as it was the end of my shift, and Moff Lewis decided his corridor needed more guards, my Lord.”

His skin prickled beneath his armor as the temperature began to drop, Lord Vader’s anger evident. Beneath the helmet, his eyes flickered over to Leia who was slowly becoming terrified.

“That  _ Moff _ had no right to assign troopers new position. I would personally  _ remind _ him of that fact if I had not disposed of him already. His death was too quick”

CT-8721 continued to stare at Lord Vader as his lord’s hands clenched in attempt to restrain his anger. Apparently having gained sufficient control, “I am reassigning you from the night shift. It seems that my  _ assistant  _ attracts way too much trouble, as I was just made aware of. Tomorrow you will wait in front of the Senate and escort Leia to my office. I do not wish to see more of any senators than necessary. You will escort Leia throughout the rest of the day.”

“Yes sir,” CT-8721 responded diligently. While his face was emotionless, he was surprised. It did not make much sense to have Leia being escorted everywhere. Her escort could just as easily deliver the messages himself.

“You are dismissed. Report back after the Senate is closed.”

CT-8721 saluted and headed toward the door, but not before throwing another cursory glance at Leia. Leia was looking at him pleadingly, her eyes begging him not to go. The door was about to slide closed again before Leia all of a sudden threw herself forward and hugged him. CT-8721 stood still, shocked and awkwardly bent down to return the hug.

“Have you never had a hug before?” asked Leia in between small sobs that were beginning to escape her. 

“Nobody hugs a clone ma’am.”

Leia stopped hugging him and looked down sheepishly. “I’m sorry”

He sighed and shook his head. Leia’s nose crinkled slightly. “Why does no one hug a clone?”

He smiled sadly. “A clone isn’t considered, by most people, to be a person.”

Leia shook her head vehemently. “You are a person. What is your name? Every person has a name.”

“I’m CT-8721.”

Once again Leia shook her head as Lord Vader looked on curiously. “That’s no name.”   
He held up a hand. “It’s my designation ma’am. I don’t have enough combat experience for a nickname.”

A smile suddenly broke out on Leia’s face. “Then I will name you!” Her eyes closed in thought. “Your name will be Caden. It starts with your designation,” her nose scrunched up in distaste at the word, “number and it means little battle.”

A foreign feeling fluttered in his heart as he heard Leia’s prolomation. A name. She hardly even knew him, but she had done something unimaginable and given him a name. A name was an honor, it meant that someone cared about you. It meant that if he died there was someone to mourn his passing. It meant someone expected him to return. He was finally more than just a clone.

"Thank you ma'am."

"Call me Leia."

"Thank you ma-Leia." He gave her hand a firm squeeze and walked away. His posture remained rigid as he felt Lord Vader's gaze burn through him.

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

Darth Vader put a restraining hand on Leia as he watched the clone trooper go. She was different than what he had expected. In the beginning he knew she was the daughter of a Senator, but now he knows she is a princess, yet despite the fact that other children around her were expected to be selfish and snobby, she named a clone. Annoyed, because once again he was thinking about the princess, he steered her back inside.

Leia sat down in the chair he directed her to and Darth Vader sat opposite of her at his desk. About to continue his work of organizing military strategies, he made the mistake of looking at Leia. She was glaring at him and had he been anyone else he might have fled. But he wasn’t anyone else, he was a Sith Lord and not to be intimidated by a little girl. He gazed back at her and held her eyes.

Vader could feel her burning desire to look away, but her stubborn streak did not allow her. Growing tired of the game, he stood up continuing to hold eye contact and strode over to her. Due to her petite frame, Leia had to look upwards at him and a spark of fear entered her eyes, but she refused to look away. Part of Vader wondered if he had lost his ability to intimidate people. He could make battle hardened soldiers cower at his feet, when he came to suppress their planet, but a ten year old girl wasn’t. 

The Force responded easily to his call and a datapad flew into his hand. Leia flinched slightly at his use of the Force and finally broke eye contact. Pleased, Vader handed her the datapad, “Sort these.”

Still avoiding looking at him, Leia grabbed the datapad and began to work. Satisfied at her compliance, Vader sat down and resumed working. Leia again stopped working and resumed glaring at him. Vader could feel her glare like a lightsaber, burning through his head. It was a sad day if a young girl could distract him. Determined not to let her best him he used the Force to lift her chair up, ignoring her yelp of fear and still not looking up, he turned the chair around and settled her down. 

Vader felt the strong urge to smile to himself, but the painful scars on his face did not permit it. He could taste her fear once again and it was energizing. He squashed the small part of him that was feeling guilty about intimidating a  _ ten _ year old girl. He continued to work and ignored the creaking of the chair. Then the chair squeaked again. A small screech as the chair seemed to slide across the room. Sparing a cursory glance, he looked up to see what she was doing. The chair had left its original position and was slowly turning around. Amused at her antics, he once again called on the Force to turn her chair around, so Leia could face him and resumed working.

“How did you do that?” queried Leia after a while.

“Do what?” asked Vader, confused and only mildly annoyed at the interruption.

“The moving thing. Where you move your hand and an object moves,” she paused and grumbled to herself, “like my chair.” Vader tilted his head slightly, amused at the last portion of her sentence, which she had probably not intended for him to hear. Unfortunately for Leia, the helmet allowed him to hear better than most humans could.

“It’s called the Force.”

Leia looked at him curiously, “What’s that?”

“An energy that binds the universe together. Those who are Force-sensitive can use it,” replied Vader feeling a little surreal. He had never expected to talk about the Force with someone else since becoming a SIth Lord.

"Am I Force-sensitive?"

Confused, "Why do you ask?"

"Because daddy says I'm special."

"Every parent thinks that their child is special. If you were Force-sensitive I would have killed you or you would be serving the Emperor."

"Then who is Force-sensitive?"

"I am, the inquisitors, the Jedi, and some other parties."

Vader sighed to himself and began to resume working. Leia was too curious for her own good.

"Are Jedi really bad?"

Annoyed at being interrupted again, Darth Vader tersely replied: "Yes"

Leia frowned at him, "Daddy says that the Jedi were good and the Empire framed them. He said they never would have betrayed the Republic."

Darth Vader snapped his head up in shock. Bail Organa's daughter had basically admitted that her father was disloyal to the Empire. While he may have has suspected the Senator of being disloyal, there had been no proof. With Leia's confession he could arrest her father and finally execute the man for treason. But a part of him could not do it and betray Leia. The death of her father would bring much pain and it was highly likely that his Master would instruct him to also torture Leia for information.

"As much as I hate your father, I will pretend that I did not hear that. What you were saying is treason. The Jedi were corrupt and betrayed the Republic. That is all you will ever say about Jedi if you wish to live a long life and not watch your father be personally executed by me."

The blood drained from Leia's face and she nodded tightly. She refrained from talking and continued to sort through his messages.

A couple hours later Leia once again interrupted Vader, “I’m done.”

She would need something else to do. Unfortunately, he didn’t have any messages he was willing to give her. He scrolled through his list of projects to do and noted the survey his Master wanted him to submit concerning supplies. The technological error as he called it, also known as the Death Star was draining their available supplies. Due to being a secret project the supplies had to be taken in small, unnoticeable amounts from other projects. The problem was that if a person began to investigate the supply runs, they might notice the inconsistencies. Inconsistencies pile up over time and it could become very obvious that the someone, the Empire, was building something the size of a moon. Therefore his Master wanted him to insure that everything could be accounted for. Why another high ranking officer or someone working on the Death Star project could not do it, eluded him. He grabbed a datapad and put in the necessary clearance level. Leia could easily do the groundwork for him and she would not be accessing highly sensitive information that she could spill. If she revealed any classified material to anyone, he would  _ personally _ deal with her.

“I want you to find any inconsistencies in supplies.”

Leia accepted the datapad, before looking back at him, “Why do you have to do this?”   


“The Emperor assigned it to me. Often Moffs will alter the supplies slightly for their own profit.”

She nodded and began to work, but then seemed to think of something and looked back at him. “What does the Emperor look like?”

Vader focused his attention to Leia wondering why she was curious about the Emperor, not many people were. “He is an old wrinkly power hungry man, who looks like a shriveled fruit and has a voice that sounds like he breathed in helium.” Vader looked up all of a sudden realizing in shock what he said. Leia was looking at him amused. He turned to her and snapped, “You did not hear that.”

“Of course,” she paused and smiled. “We’re even.”

Vader suppressed the strong urge to throw her across the room and wring the life out of her. She was preposterous thinking that she could blackmail him with his secret. Nobody would ever believe her anyway. His inner venting was stopped when he heard a sad sigh. “What?” he snapped.

She looked at him with big, round, innocent, and sad eyes, “Why did you kill the Moff?”

It was official, Vader was confused by children. The man had been threatening to harm her and yet she was sad that he had died. Had he been that foolish when he was young also? He had left his mother behind… Snarling to himself, Vader shoved the memory into the deepest crevice of his mind. 

Leia continued talking oblivious to his confusion, “I know he was mean, but he did apologize and Daddy says you should always forgive people if they say they are sorry. Even if you did have to kill him, did you have to make it a long painful death… You just choked him like he was nothing.”

Vader stared at her, her logic was so naive and Lewis definitely deserved a more painful death. “If I didn’t kill the man then he wouldn’t fear me. If people come to know that  _ I  _ led a man live who directly defied me, then the others will no longer fear and become disobedient. The Empire can’t be run by disobedient people.”

“That’s brutal”, she whispered sadly.

Indifferent, “Reality is harsh.”

Leia continued to look at him sadly and he could feel the increase in her fear. She was once again afraid of him. A memory from the previous day came to him,  _ “Are you going to eat me?” _

“Why did you believe that I would eat you?”

Leia seemed to shrink in her seat in embarrassment. She mumbled something indistinguishable.

“Excuse me?”   


She looked at him and winced. “Sorry,” lowering her head, “but all the other Senator’s kids say that if you ever saw us you would eat us. They say you are an evil droid created by the Emperor whose sole task is to kill anyone who might pose a threat.”

Darth Vader blinked in surprise, if his lungs weren’t so badly damaged he might have started laughing. The idea was so ludicrous. At least he knew why there were no children ever to be seen with him around. People circulated the most preposterous rumors and it was indeed curious that their parents didn’t put an end to it.

Leia was again staring at him. The girl seemed to have a dreadful problem with staring at him. People do not  _ stare _ at the dark lord of the Sith. It simply was not done. He glared at her and she meekly looked down. Despite her lack of staring, he could still feel through the Force her burning desire to ask a question and worry. He marveled at her ability to distract him and his need to appease her.

“Speak,” he commanded his patience having run dry.

She looked at him with a hint of gratitude. Taking a deep breath she asked, “What’s going to happen to the cadet?”

“Cadet?”

“His name was Firmus Piett and he stood up against the Moff, even though he was threatened with being demoted to  _ stormtrooper _ training.”

“I don’t imagine anything will happen to him. Lewis is dead and therefore the threats are void.”

Leia nodded and he could feel her relief. He frowned at her. The child made attachments too easily. A small voice in the back of his head asked if he didn’t do the same thing. After all he did invite three strangers into his home. Vader all of a sudden stood up, bored with the trivial tasks he had been assigned.

“Come,” he ordered to Leia and strode to the door. Before he had a chance to open it, it slid open to reveal Tarkin.

“Vader,” he sneered, “I need to speak with you privately.” Tarkin threw a condensing glance at Leia, who defiantly glared at him. Vader bristled at Tarkin’s tone and for some unfathomable reason, his condescending manner to Leia.

“Schedule an appointment like the rest of the Empire, Tarkin” he replied rudely and shoved past him. Tarkin gaped at his brisk manner and looked at Leia. He turned back to Vader and smirked. “Babysitting little girls are we? What would the Emperor say?”

Leia looked at Tarkin and curled her lip in distaste, “I am sure he would commend Lord Vader for doing such an excellent job.”

Vader felt his eyebrows raise at the remark and Tarkin apparently shared his disbelief by saying, “Oh, really?”

Innocently, “Yes, after all what better way to keep dissenters quiet than hold a young girl hostage.”

Vader smirked slightly at the flabbergasted look on Tarkin’s face. Leia had a sharp, but honey coated tongue. In an attempt to recover his dignity Tarkin asked, “I hardly doubt you are of any importance.”

“I’m the princess of Alderaan.”

Realization set in Tarkin’s face as he recognized Senator Organa’s daughter. Vader decided to intervene as he mentally cheered Leia on, “I will be going now. Do schedule an appointment if there is anything  _ vitally _ important.”

Without waiting for a reply he grabbed Leia’s hand and began to drag her along the corridor. She stumbled slightly and began to jog, but soon was out of breath. “Slow down!”

Without decreasing his pace, he turned his head to look at her.

She summoned a glare, but didn’t complain anymore. Satisfied at her compliance he continued on his way and stopped at turbolift. Leia stood beside him massaging her hand and gasping for breath.

“No wonder you run messages so slowly. You are in horrid physical condition.”

She shot him a dark look, “I’m ten.  _ And _ I’m short.”

Vader shook his head and stepped into the turbolift. It descended quickly. They exited on a maintenance level and Leia shot him a confused glance.

“I figured we could take a break from work.”

Confused, Leia followed him as he walked over to a scrap pile. Together they began to repair a small droid and settled into an unexpected comfortable silence.

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

Leia hummed slightly as she worked on the cleaning droid next to Vader. When it came time to go, she didn’t complain at his insane walking pace, where she literally had to sprint. Fortunately he didn’t grab her hand this time as it was already sore from their previous excursion. She stumbled slightly and cursed her idiotic dress, which always seemed to get in the way. When she had been younger, she had been allowed to run in boy clothings. Ever since her ninth birthday party she had to wear proper feminine clothing. Her mind wandered to her Aunt Katherine, who had kicked up a giant fuss finding out that Leia was acting like a boy. She hadn’t understood it at the time. There were many of the palace servants boys who would run around and she would jealously watch from her window. Life was lonely for Leia and one day she had snuck out of the palace and gone to the city. She had been a six year old dressed as a boy and had acted as a boy because that was the only way she had ever observed other children act. Of course there were the occasional children of foreign dignitaries, but all they ever wanted to do was complain. They complained about the food, the weather, traveling, and worst of all, insulted Threepio. She had been very young, but at one such play meeting she had simply ran out. Ever since then her father had to force her to such meetings.

Leia almost crashed into the Sith Lord as he suddenly slowed down.

“You won’t speak a word of what happens when you are with me, understood?” he warned.

Leia nodded and slowed to a fast walk. The reason for the change became apparent as they rounded the bend and she could make out the figure of her father. Leia wanted to desperately run forward and hug him. A warning hand on her shoulder prevented her. A desperate feeling of desolation swam through and she wanted to cry, but she would not allow herself to. Her father had been so frantic the first time and if she were to break down again, he would be incredibly worried. It hurt Leia to know that she would be unable to calm her father and tell him everything was alright. The slow pace to her father was agonizing and Leia just wanted to run forward. The hand on her shoulder warned her against such attempts. Just before they reached him, she broke free and hugged her father. Vader did not say anything to her or her father and simply entered his office.

“Oh Leia what happened to you?” her father murmured.

Leia remained silent as she walked with her father outside of the Senate. Her thoughts though, were in disarray. She couldn’t understand Vader. He was an imposing figure and deadly. He had the ability to kill anyone with a thought, but he didn’t. 

She remembered the fear she had felt when the cadet had fallen to the ground trying to defend her against the Moff. There was something about Piett that she admired. It was a feeling in her gut that said she would meet him again. Whether those meetings would be positive or negative, she did not know, but she would remember him. When Vader came, he had ignored Piett and, without touching Lewis, thrown him across the corridor. Leia shivered unconsciously as she remembered the sudden sensation of feeling like she had been plunged in ice water, when Vader had turned to face the Moff. He had been angry, so very angry and Leia could still feel it echoing through the Senate. The Moff, Lewis, had tried to beg for his life and make excuses. Shame coursed through Leia as she thought of how she wanted Vader to ignore them, and he did. Silently she vowed, never to anger Vader.

Then there was Leia’s other conundrum. Her father had often told Leia of Vader’s atrocities and she remembered the stories spread by her father’s friends. They had recounted how he had conquered worlds and brutally oppressed them. Leia of course had never been meant to hear them, but with her unquenchable curiosity it had been an easy matter to try to find out what went on behind closed doors. The information she had learned was troublesome and she still had nightmares of the black man. The horrors that one being could inflict, was unfathomable to Leia and in her mind there was no possible way that he was a man. Vader had to be a machine and it had only been reinforced by the first meeting. Yet most machines, with the prominent exception of Artoo and Threepio, did not express complex emotions. Vader was an emotional whirlwind.

Leia was too young to comprehend Vader’s actions even if she knew the motives. His motives though were as mysterious and unforthcoming as himself. He hadn’t harmed Leia and she clung to that point. She knew that she had annoyed him with her incessant questioning, yet he had answered them. Then Vader had warned her. She had admitted to a being of immense power, who was incredibly loyal to the empire, that her father was traitorous. It had been accidental and an innocent slip of seemingly innocent information, but traitorous nonetheless. Leia wasn’t a fool and she looked discreetly at her father as he helped her in the speeder. She knew that her father was involved in traitorous activities. An innocent slip about her father’s opinion concerning Jedi seemed insignificant next to other talk. Her father could have been executed today. 

The empire hosted public executions and it made her sick to think that her father could have easily been the victim. His death would have been publicly broadcasted to discourage dissenters and it would have lasted for hours. Executions were hardly ever fast and the victim was usually an incoherent mess before the lethal blow came. Any word that her father might try to say to hasten his death would simply prolong his agony and be ridiculed. Bile rose in Leia’s throat as she thought about it. To further her father’s suffering she would have been made to watch. He would have been able to see her and the tears that would be running down her face as she screamed in anguish. That nightmare had nearly come to pass, yet it didn’t. Vader had saved her, not her father who he had expressed hatred toward, but her.

“Daddy?” Leia asked softly, her fatigue clearly evident as they pulled up to the 500 Republica.

Softly, “Yes Leia?”

“Is Vader a machine?”

There was a slight pause as Bail Organa tried to formulate an answer. “He was once a man, but now he is nothing but a machine.”

Leia nodded, but remained unconvinced. Even without evidence, she may have begun to doubt her belief about Vader being a machine, because her instincts said there was something more to him and they had never led her wrong before. Subdued, she sat down on her bed and fell asleep fully clothed as the exhaustion of the day caught up with her.

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

Darth Vader observed the clone that had arrived with impressive punctuality. The clone, CT-8721, also now known as Caden held himself at attention awaiting further instructions. It disturbed Vader slightly at how obedient he was. The clones he had served with had followed orders, but also asked intelligent question. Caden just stood rigidly still. 

“How do you wish to be addressed?”

Caden finally snapped out of his salute and waves of confusion hit Vader.

“I will respond to anything you deem fit, my Lord.” 

Vader stood still and thought. He may be reckless and do things without considering the consequences of his actions, but he was observant. Caden, the trooper was Caden now in his mind, had emitted such immense joy when he received his name that it had nearly blinded the Sith.

“Princess Leia gave you a name trooper,” continuing driely, “She would be most upset if we didn’t show the courtesy of using it.”

“Thank you, my Lord.”

He raised his hand dismissively, “No need,  _ Caden. _ ” Once again Vader could feel great happiness from Caden and he smiled slightly to himself. “Tell me of your first encounter with the princess.

He listened carefully as Caden recounted the day’s events. His curiosity spiked at the mention of the chase and how she apparently was stronger than she looked or the way that she nimbly dodged other people. The chase amused him, reminding him of his youth in the Jedi Temple where he ran from his Master in hope to escape meditations. It never worked. His mood soured again thinking of Obi-Wan and the familiar feeling of anger returned. Vader listened to the rest of Caden’s report and withheld his anger. When the report was finished, he intervened.

“You will be accompanying Leia as she runs messages and insure her safety. I would be most, displeased, if any harm befell her.”

He considered his instructions, before deciding to add something else, “You will spend an hour a day teaching her self-defense. Dismissed.”

Caden saluted and with a quick, “My Lord,” left the office to retire. Vader remained standing still for a while and closed his eyes in concentration, attempting to ignore the respirator. He would have a meeting with his Master tomorrow and he would have to take certain precautions that Leia would not fall under direct scrutiny of his Master. It worried him slightly that he was becoming so possessive of a girl he hardly knew. The most logical course of action would be to dispel his weakness, but it would draw attention if he simply let Leia go unpunished or killed her. He ignored the part of him that said that he would never be able to let her go because he loved her. Love. A ridiculous concept that only brought pain. He didn’t even know her.

His eyes rested on the crack in the desk that he hadn’t gotten repaired yet. Why there was a crack, was a complete mystery to him still and out of a little box he pulled out a small jewel. The jewel felt strange in the Force and a small realization dawned on him, it felt like Leia. Even without concentrating, through the jewel he could feel her fear and logical mind. How did a non-Force sensitive child imprint her Force presence on a small meaningless jewel Intrigued by the challenge, he delved into the Force and all of a sudden he could hear laughing voices in the background. There was so much joy, disgust, love, hatred, curiosity, and boredom in the simple jewel that it boggled his mind. He had once felt those emotions, but know it was just another luxury that he did not allow himself to indulge in.

He had murdered his beloved wife and unborn child in his rage. He had jumped to conclusions that upon reflections made no logical sense. The child would have been a boy, like Padmé had believed. The child would probably have taken after him and would have been an excellent pilot. A stray thought slipped into his mind, a daughter. For some reason he hoped she would have been just like Leia. She would probably be annoyed by her older brother, but nonetheless love him. The wistful images of his supposed children faded away and self-hatred covered the Sith. He was worthless, a reminder of the man he had once been. Despite the many faults of his younger self, he once had love and happiness. What had he been thinking, when he accepted Palpatine’s offer. He had been desperate, but perhaps he had just craved the power. He had power, but he would gladly give it up to fix his mistakes. But he knew if the opportunity arose, that he would not take it because he did not deserve it. He was a murderer. 

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vader will not find out that Leia is his daughter anytime soon. I want them to know each other better and have a reasonable relationship before Vader finds out about Leia. The problem right now is that Vader hates himself and if he finds out about his relationship with Leia, he will probably push her away in an attempt to punish himself for his own crimes. (Would sort of make this a short story.) This will be a sort of redemption fic (which I love), but there isn’t going to be any spontaneous turn to the light side. It will be a gradual change and I am hoping to keep this mostly canon, which Star Wars Rebels is rewriting. Wookieepedia update yourself, please!
> 
> To Piett fans, and I am one of them, he will reappear… later. The scene was mostly to help pave the way for future events which I am not disclosing at this point in time.


	4. Ch 4: Curious Parties and the Force

 

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

 

Darth Vader strode past the Red Guards with a flourish of his cape. They stepped aside and inclined their heads in respect. He entered the throne room and knelt down in front of his Master. “Master.”

Palpatine or Sidious as Vader referred to him as, smiled wickedly, but did not gesture for him to rise. His eyes narrowed as he regarded his _Master_ , who knew that the position that his apprentice was in caused the mechanical limbs to grind into his bones. With false kindness Sidious smiled and leaned forward, “I have heard the most interesting news, my apprentice.”

Vader tightened his mental shields, but did not reply. He was no fool. His Master was attempting to draw a reaction from him and he would be damned before he complied. On the other hand he had damned himself when he had murdered his wife in cold blood. Running out of patience his Master continued with false benevolency, “I was so surprised when my Moffs informed me of a little development concerning you. Do you know what that is?”

“No Master.”

He grimaced as his Master unleashed a fury of lightning on his body. Hate smoldered in him and rose like an irritated viper. His body remained impassive as agony settled on his limbs. His eyes landed on his Master and glared at him, wishing that the old fossil would die… painfully. His Master got up from his throne and ceased the flow of electricity, “I do not like being lied to.”

“Master, I have not lied to you.”

Screaming, he unleashed another torrent of lightning, “Do YOU DARE to _contradict_ me?”

Vader dutifully replied, “No Master.”

“Then Vader,” his Master said sneering icily, “do explain why you are taking care of a little _girl_.”

Glad for his mental shields, Vader collected his thoughts. Slowly and carefully, so not evoke anger in his Master, “I needed to punish her for a slight against Imperial rules,” he swallowed, “The normal authorities would have been inappropriate, as she is the daughter of a high profile senator. The normal procedures would have just made more dissenters.”

“I see AND why did you not inform me of this development immediately?” hissed his Master.

He cringed slightly, “I did not see-”

Mocking, “I did not see… That is all it is with you Vader, because you never stop to think!”

“Master, the matter was an unimportant one, not worthy of your attention, you would have been told today at this meeting and not have had to waste any of your precious time.”

Vader would have held his breath, if it weren’t for the respirator, as he watched his words take effect. The Emperor always responded well to flattery, unless he was aware someone was being insincere. The anger faded from the Emperor’s face and he began to mumble to himself.

“Good, good,” the Emperor waved a hand, “Rise Lord Vader.”

The emperor continued to pace in front of Vader. Vader wanted to sigh in relief, the immediate danger was over.

“Lord Vader,” the emperor addressed him, knocking him out of his musings, “How can I be assured that the girl will not distribute sensitive information she learns in your presence?”

Restraining a snort of contempt at the idea that she would dare to defy him so, he replied; “She is young my Master and scared. I threatened her on the first day and since then she has not talked at all about what is happening when she is with me. Her father continues to dwell under the belief that I am torturing her.”

“How can you be so sure?” continuing maliciously, “It wouldn’t be the first time you were wrong.”

Vader stiffened at the jab to his past failure. “I can feel her father’s distress through the Force as well as his daughter’s desire to tell him she is fine.”

The Emperor frowned at him, “And why have you not tortured the girl for information? We have reason to believe that her father has traitorous beliefs and she might very well be aware of them.”

Vader stiffened again. He was not stranger to the art of torture and had perfected it over the years since becoming a Sith, but he did not torture _children_ . Just because he was a Sith did not mean he had lost all his morals. He would readily admit that his morals were skewed, but they were existent. Torturing Leia, the idea was preposterous. He could already see her tearful eyes as he would stalk up into her cell with an interrogation droid floating next to him. She would have attempted not to scream, to not give him the satisfaction, and before she finally screamed in agony, she would give him a betrayed look. He was not capable of that. He was too attached. The girl had _somehow_ found a spot in his cold loveless heart. He would not be able to inflict her harm. It was ironic how the Jedi forbade attachment because they can be exploited, yet the Sith did the same thing.

“Master, if the press were to find out that she is being tortured it would be scandalous.”

“Are you becoming soft Vader?”

Firmly, “Never master. While the girl’s father may be a traitor, our inability to get any evidence on him suggests he would be excruciatingly careful. There is no way he would dispense secrets to a chatty ten year old.”

The Emperor nodded and began to pace again, thinking. “But why Vader do you keep the girl? She serves no purpose.”

_Keep?_ Leia was not in any way his slave and Vader resented the comment. Long buried memories stirred of Tatooine. It was during times like these that Vader contemplated overthrowing his Master. It wasn’t just because it was the Sith way, because if the Emperor would die or be incapacitated, then Vader would have to run the empire and he did not have the patience for that. Overthrowing his Master would have to be subtle business and carefully done… Then he would have to find the appropriate person to handle the politics of running an Empire. That was too much work and he had not learned everything possible from his Master. The desire to kill his Master came from the Emperor’s sadism. There was always agony involved with his Master, be it physical or emotional.

“I am not _keeping_ the girl. Besides she is useful and it is wonderful watching her father worry about her. Organa is a fool. He will not do anything that can jeopardize his daughter.”

He refrained from voicing his thoughts concerning what would happen to the Senator if he endangered Leia; Organa would suffer a long painful death.

The Emperor cackled and Vader worried at the maniacal look in his Master’s eyes.

“You are right my apprentice. I want you to continue watching the girl and see if she can give out any information concerning her father. If possible, I want you to make sure she is loyal to the Empire, unlike her father. It would be most beneficial to us if she was loyal.”

Vader couldn’t help but think that he meant her to be a mindless follower.

“I will see what I can do Master.”

The conversation continued and drifted to more military affair and then the planning of the ball. Vader couldn’t help but sneer at the concept of a ball and all the rich, snobby people who would be attending. The worst part was that his master expected him to attend the ball.

Vader walked through the hallway and absently noticed the Senate had opened. He wondered if Leia was already waiting in his office. He shook his head slightly as he remembered that he had locked the door as it was his custom to keep unwanted characters out of his office. Caught in his thoughts, he did not notice the unwanted senator that stumbled upon his bath. Bail Organa.

“Lord Vader, may I speak with you?” he asked trying to keep pace with Vader’s strides.

“No.”

“It’s urgent.”

“I highly doubt that,” he replied and quickened his stride.

“It is about Leia.” called Senator Organa.

Vader stopped walking and slowly turned to the Senator and regarded him impassively. Bail fidgeted under his gaze, but stood still. Vader lifted his hand and applied some pressure to the Senator’s throat as a warning, “That is none of your concern. She becomes your concern when the Senate closes.”

He turned to leave, when another voice interrupted.

“Senator Organa, I was wondering if I could speak to Leia,” the woman paused and Vader recognized her as Senator Mothma, “Where is she? I sure hope you didn’t leave her in your office she would be dreadfully bored.”

Vader felt the strong urge to run back to his office as he imagined all the antics that Leia could get up to. Perhaps he was being unfair or biased, considering the situations that came to mind were all of his own antics of his younger years. He looked closely at the female Senator, Mon Mothma, not able to ignore his suspicions. Her timing was highly convenient.

“I am afraid that Lord Vader has her… occupied Mon Mothma,” Bail says slowly, but loudly and his words begin to draw a crowd.

Vader couldn’t help but frown, the Senator was planning something. He felt a twinge of satisfaction from Mon Mothma and turned to her as she opened her mouth. It seemed that Senator Organa had recruited a friend.

“My apologies Lord Vader,” she begins smiling sweetly, “Do you know what Bail means when he says you have her daughter occupied?”

“Perhaps,” sarcastically, “that it is none of your business.”

She frowned at him. “But I was really looking forward to seeing Leia.”

Vader turned to Organa. “Next time arrange an appointment,” and walked away.

He could feel Organa’s anger and relished it; he was in no mood to deal with politicians, especially after his Master’s punishment. His bones croaked and moving made them scream. A soft smile creeped up his face as he thought of Leia. She was different. For some unfathomable reason that he could not understand, she made him proud. When she was impudent, he wanted to snap her neck like every other person who defied him who wasn’t under the Emperor’s protection. But despite these desires, he felt strangely fond of her actions in hindsight. She was brave, and foolish perhaps, but carried within her a regality that rivaled the Emperor. His mood began to sour at the thought of his Master, who wanted to poison his precious jewel. Vader stopped all of a sudden and felt someone running into him.

Leia was her own person, not his. She was the adopted daughter of Senator Organa and despite that, he did not deserve her. It was improper to consider her his jewel. She belonged to herself and he had no need for her. Yet, he knew he was lying to himself. He needed her. She was like an ointment to his sore wounds and he couldn’t fathom being without her. It was a selfish thought, to keep someone so pure near him. How did he deserve this opportunity? She was too good for him and he had too many murders on his soul, but she was there. It took all his restraint not to run to his office and let Leia in, then lock the door. He wished he could keep her, but how could he without her consent? It would break her and he didn’t want that. Never before had he felt such deep longing, except for Padmé. Undecided, he turned around to confront the person that had barged into him.

Bail Organa began to stand up, massaging his head with his right hand and giving Vader a dirty look. Vader continued to stare at him impassively, while inwardly annoyed. Senator Mon Mothma hurried to the scene and behind her the previous spectators. Organa retrieved his courage. “Darth Vader, I must speak to you about my daughter.”

Vader felt like screaming. “Make an appointment.”

“My daughter had other engagements while at Cor-Imperial Center and she will be unable to attend them with the current situation.”

Vader really wanted to throw Leia’s father into the far wall. It would have been incredibly satisfying. “Make an appointment.”

Bail frowned, “She has a limited time on Imperial Center and it would be improper for her to not be allowed to take full advantage.”

Losing any patience that he might have once possessed Vader growled out, “I...DON'T...Care.”

Not taking the hint Bail continued, “I am sure we can figure out another arrangement.”

“Yes another arrangement sounds perfect,” Vader paused to let his words sink in and allow for the Senator to feel some hope, “I will extend the punishment to three weeks.”

“Th...Three. Three weeks?”

“Will there be a problem?” Vader asked pleasantly.

“Three Weeks is preposterous!” exclaimed the Senator.

“Then it will be four weeks,” Vader said tonelessly and looked at Senator Organa who seemed as if he wanted to disagree, “Or should I prolong the punishment to a month?”

A small squeak came from Bail Organa and Darth Vader tilted his head forward. “Good.” He walked away.

Behind him he could hear Mon Mothma consoling Organa and the Senator’s self hatred. Pleasure ran through him at having inflicted pain. The Senator had bothered him for such a long time and it seemed a fitting revenge for the Senator to experience some of the self-loathing that he felt on a daily basis. He stopped in front of his office and noted the lack of personnel nearby and the distinct absence of Leia and the clone trooper: Caden.

The door to his office slide open and he paused confused. He always locked the door. On his desk was a holopad and he picked it up gently.

_Since you weren’t here, I have taken Leia to the barracks to begin her self-defense classes._

_-CT-8721 (Caden)_

Had anyone been there, they would have seen Darth Vader rushing out of his office and heading to the clone trooper barracks. The only unfortunate soul who did witness it had been rudely pushed out of Vader’s path, resulting in a concussion and memory loss.

 

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

 

Leia ignored the dizziness that swarmed her as she sat up, after having once again been knocked down. Caden offered her a hand and she took it gratefully.

“Again.” he intoned.

Leia was beginning to detest him. She stepped back and got into the proper stance again or what she believed to be. Caden grumbled and from the sides of the room the other clones laughed.

“It’s her first day!”

“She isn’t _engineered_ to be as capable as the rest of us!”

“Give up trooper, she isn’t going to get better anytime soon!”

Leia turned to look at the gathered crowd. Determined to prove them wrong she kicked backwards unexpectedly, trusting her feelings. Her foot collided with something hard and Caden fell backwards slightly. He stood smiling merrily and clapped Leia on her back. “I knew you had it in you!”

Leia looked at him in disbelief, her new friend was insane. She shook her head as he turned to the onlookers. “She isn’t so shabby. Must have skills, cause I don’t know any ten year old who could surprise kick me like that.”

The other clones laughed good naturedly and an older one got up and began to walk toward them with a noticeable limp. “You sure you aren’t getting lazy my brother?”

“Sharp as always,” retorted Caden.

Leia narrowed her eyes at the clone who dared to insult her friend. Ignoring the lightness of her head and the black dots that were beginning to swarm her vision she tensed. She felt, rather than saw a hand moving towards her and delivered a powerful spin back kick at her opponent. The elder clone stumbled back and smirked at Caden.

“Perhaps you are right. Good reflexes that one has… But stamina, not so much.” he said indicating to Leia, who was slightly out of breath.

Caden frowned. “Well the Empire may have been built in a day, but the army was not.”

“True, true.”

“Good job Leia,” congratulated Caden.

Leia smiled weakly, refusing to let her weakness show. Briefly she wondered if she was getting sick. She had never felt so dizzy before. A feeling on the edge of her conscious caused her to turn around and frown at the door. The feeling was familiar and she wondered where she had encountered it before. It felt cold and deadly, but strangely comforting. Her mind thought of Vader and his enigmatic personality. She frowned to herself for associating the word comforting to Darth Vader. Vader was a mystery. His very actions made no logical sense and yet had a strange human quality to them, despite her father’s insistence that he was a machine. Perhaps he was confined to his suit and was seeking comfort. Her mind began to form a tragic tale of love and loss.

“Leia… Leeiiiiaaa….Leeeeiiiiiaaaa”

Snapping out of her reverie Leia looked at Caden abashed and cringed. He shook his head and laughed, “No time like the present my lady.”

She nodded and smiled at the wisdom in the reprimand.

“So my lady,” began Caden.

“Don’t do that! You are beginning to sound like Threepio.”

Caden lifted an eyebrow. “Threepio?”

Leia looked away, “Our protocol droid. He is all formal and does really weird things. He is also _really_ annoying. I don’t know where my dad got him, but whoever made him is an insane genius.”

Now Caden was really intrigued, “And how _my lady_ would you be able to make the decision to call him an _insane_ genius?”

Embarrassed Leia mumbled something.

“Can’t hear you.”

More clearly, “I may have looked at his wiring and tinkered with it.”

The other clone laughed and offered his hand to Leia, “The name is Mech. So you like mechanics?”

Leia nodded shyly and Caden laughed good naturedly. “We call him Mech because we always wondered what he was reading by a flashlight in his cot. Turns out to be a book about mechanics,” lowering his voice conspiratorially, “We didn’t even know about all the stuff _under_ his cot. You should have seen some of the crazy object he made, that we found.”

Leia smiled and shook Mech’s hand. She may have disliked his rude comments about her defense training, but as she was beginning to understand, the clone troopers were like brothers. They teased each other good naturedly, but were also very blunt. Unlike other people, they were also not easily insulted.

The ominous hiss of Vader’s respirator filled the room. Leia turned around and put her hands behind her back. The other clone troopers gulped slightly and stood at attention. Vader surveyed the room and Leia thought that he did not look happy. His cape fluttered around his legs and a sense of danger filled the room.

“Caden, explain.”

Leia looked at Caden in worry and opened her mouth to defend him. The first syllable had just left her throat when she felt in constrict slightly. Frantically her eyes darted around and settled on Vader and his slightly raised hand. She could feel her heart beating and adrenaline pumping through her veins. She tried to swallow, but found herself unable to. The room was quiet beside the hiss of the respirator.

Caden began to speak with a nervous undertone, “Leia and I were waiting in your office… but as it was half an hour later I thought.... that it would be best to do something productive.”

“Go on,” implored Vader.

“Since… you told me to teach Leia self-defense, I thought… that I could do that here in the barracks.”  
Vader silently regarded the clone troopers and Leia fidgeted. She was still unable to speak and the black dots crowding her vision made it nearly impossible to see. A wave of nausea hit her and she missed what had been said.

“-productive Leia?” asked Vader, releasing the pressure on her neck.

“Excuse me?”

Vader crossed his arms impatiently, “Has your lesson been productive Leia? Or did you spend all your time talking?”

Leia shook her head and rubbed her throat. “I have been learning.”

The nausea was becoming greater and she felt like throwing up her empty stomach. DImly she was aware of Vader talking to another clone trooper. The clone trooper walked up to her and took a normal fighting pose. Leia looked at him irritably and ducked in shock as a fist swung towards her. A leg began to move in her peripheral vision and she quickly dodged that attack bringing up her own counter kick. THe trooper dodged with ease, but Leia had expected that and with an energy that she hadn’t known she possessed charged at her opponent. Her body slammed into him and they both fell to the ground.

Slowly, she stood up. Her ears filled with a rushing noise and her vision darkened as she began to sway. Her hands instinctively grabbed the nearest object and she clenched the fabric in her hand tightly in attempt to stand upright. Belatedly she realized that Vader was standing next to her. She wondered how he had gotten to her side that fast. He was holding onto her arm now. His fingers curled around it like a vice grip. Her mind began to think disjointedly and as she felt Vader kneeling before her, all she thought of was how she was going to have bruises on her arm. The din began to fade further and she felt so tired. It would be so easy to slip into the realm of unconsciousness.

Something stabbed into her arm and the effect was instantaneous. Like being doused in ice water, Leia found herself rudely awakened. The stimulant that had been injected into her body caused her blood flow to increase and prevented the bliss of sleep. She tried to struggle against the drug, to return back to peace. Confusion filled her mind as she was brought back to consciousness. She was beginning to panic for she couldn’t remember what had happened.

She wondered what her name was or where she was. The details seemed insignificant. Older memories seemed to penetrate the confusion of her mind. She could hear the soft murmurs of her parents. The cheers of the crowds as she raced on a swoop bike. There were beeps and whistles accompanying a fond feeling. Yet, these fragmented memories still left her at loss to where or who she was.

At the fringes of her mind, she could feel a foreign presence. It was probing and pushing. An ancient, instinctive urge caused her to push against the presence, to evict it from her mind. It ignored her efforts and seemed to whisper to her. She wondered what the foreign thing was, but her instincts cried danger, and she fought it. The presence though continued its attempts to enter her mind, in spite of her denying it, She was curious, insanely curious and observed it from the safety behind her walls. Then it shoved too hard and she evicted it completely.

A sheltered mind was lonesome and lacking life. She felt afraid, surrounded by the strong cold walls she had erected. There were no windows or peep holes. She was all alone.The stillness was beginning to drive her insane and she sought to lower her walls, but they refused to move and panic began to set in. Her mind tore against the fortress that was trapping her, but it was all in vain and she began to comprehend how desolate her situation was. There had to be a way out.

The fortress was inconsistent. Parts of it seemed to be built of sand and other of steel. There were massive pillars and short sloping walls. She tried to break through where the sand lay, but the sand kept pouring back. At last, she saw something. Again old instincts called to her as she inspected it. She could feel safety radiating off it. There were two strands. One was pristine blue with sandish twines coursing through it and small flecks of green. The other was darker; it was black, red, and a dark shade of blue. She touched the bright blue one that reminded her of home.

_A young boy sat on the steps of a white adobe. He looked around with curious blue eyes. She wanted to call out to him. There was something so familiar about him. The boy turned and stared directly at her. His piercing blue eyes, met her own brown ones and she knew that he was aware of her. He gave a small wave and smiled. She smiled sadly at him. His face lit up and he walked over to her. His mouth moved silently and she frowned at him. She tried to speak, but no sound would come out. A frown marred her face. The boy appeared to laugh. A small pouch was slung over his shoulder and he looked into it. He seemed to get excited and withdrew a small piece of glass. Within the glass marble there was a small petalled flower. He smiled again and pressed it into her hand. He gave a small bow and walked away._

She was back in the fortress and frowned. Her hand touched the other strand that seemed to be ringing.

“Leia,” it called.

The strand knew her name! Very slowly the presence that had attacked her mind earlier began to seep in. This time she did not fight it. The entrance through the string meant it was safe.

“Leia,” it gently called again.

Very slowly it began to explore the fortress and her walls began to crumble. Leia smiled slowly and watched silently. Whoever was in her mind was safe.

 

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

 

Vader watched worriedly as Leia lay on the floor. He had not expected her to have such an adverse reaction to the stimulus or the mind probe. The stimulus was normally used in interrogations and Vader was rather familiar with its side effects, which included partial memory loss. Because of its primary use in interrogations, the drug was not entirely safe. Temporary memory loss, disconnectedness, pain, insomnia, and intense cravings were considered an additional bonus. He had hoped that by a mind probe he could guide her into conscious easier and hopefully avoid the unpleasant side effects. He had definitely not expected her resistance or the mental lockdown she underwent. It was well within his abilities to enter her mind, but doing so would tear her mental shields apart and cause Leia extreme agony. He couldn't abide that.

Due to his dilemma, he had brushed against her mind trying to fund a crack and called out Leia's name. To his greatest surprise, he had a bond with Leia. He frowned in confusion. Force bonds were incredibly rare, especially if one of the individuals wasn't Force sensitive. Pushing aside his confusion that was becoming customary, he used the bond to gentle invade her head.

"What happened?" A soft voice asked.

Vader glanced down in shock at Leia who was awakening. The clones near him wandered closer. Had the soldiers been stormtroopers, Darth Vader would have killed every single one of them for seeing him in such a vulnerable position. He was kneeling next to Leia and holding her in his arms. In all, the picture was more of a worrisome father, than the Dark Lord of the Sith.

Trying to ease Leia's confusion he said, "Nothing that you have to worry about."

Leia nodded and closed her eyes tiredly. A medical droid floated over to her and Vader set her gently on the ground, so the droid could take the necessary scans. Caden walked up to him and he could sense the clone's worry. It seemed that he wasn't the only one susceptible to getting attached to Leia. She had a strange influence to be able to get normally stoic men to care about her. She was most definitely special.

The droid beeped and Caden walked up to it to retrieve the necessary information.

“Lord Vader?” asked Caden timidly.

“Yes?”

“According to the medical scans she is lacking sustenance. It seems as if she hasn’t been eating.”

Vader looked back down at Leia in confusion. He wondered at the reason for Leia not to eat. Her father did not seem to be the type of person to allow his daughter to go unfed. He brushed his hand over her forehead and moved a stray strand of hair out of her face. She stirred and opened her eyes tiredly. The brown eyes settled on his familiar visage and with a slight smile she closed her eyes again. Vader’s hand hovered over her befuzzled. The child, whom he had scared purposefully, trusted him.

The foreign, but strangely familiar, like an old childhood friend who one sees again after many years, feeling stirred again. It filled his heart with a warmth as he basked in the appreciation of having Leia’s trust. He was unworthy, but too selfish to give it up. He loathed himself for his weakness to her, but he also loathed himself for his past mistakes. The angel lying on the ground could give him redemption. The helmet tilted a miniscule amount, he did not deserve the opportunity, but Leia deserved to live. Kneeling over her sleeping form he vowed to protect her from his Master and other who would seek to destroy her.

When Leia awoke, he was still kneeling over her. She blushed ferociously and greedily accepted the water canteen from Caden. The clone watched her carefully and handed her a ration bar, which was devoured with gusto. Vader offered his own help by the means of a hand. He aided her into a sitting position and let her rest against him. Initially she struggled and it hurt him to think that she did not believe that it was safe to be leaning against the Sith Lord. Caden gazed at him warily as he sat down in front of Leia. Vader smirked slightly. He had a reputation to uphold and despite his comforting act to the princess, the soldiers still feared him.

“Princess,” Vader began, ignoring the scowl she sent at him, “why were you not eating?”

Leia blushed again and looked away.

Vader grabbed her arm, “It is not normal to skip sustenance. If you do not want to tell me that if fine, but I want you to eat breakfast with Caden each morning. The cafeteria should do.”

Leia looked down and seemed to be intently studying her shoes, “I don’t see you ever eating and I didn’t have time to eat in the morning.”

Vader cringed to himself as she mentioned how he failed to eat. Ten years had past since Mustafar and he still missed eating. His cursed suit performed all human necessities for him. Nutrients were injected directly into his bloodstream, air pushed into his lungs by the respirator, and the mechanical limbs allowed him to move.

“Leia, I do not eat, but you are a young growing child. Therefore you will be eating breakfast and lunch in the cafeteria.”

Leia nodded and slowly stood as her mouth worked on the remnants of the ration bar. Vader regarded her as she stood in front of him, noting her weakness.

“In fact, Caden is going to take you right now to have lunch.”

Caden swiftly saluted. “Yes, my lord,” then assisted Leia out of the room.

Vader stood up, ignoring the pain as his mechanical limbs dug into his bone. He looked around the room and at the saluting clones. Satisfied that none of them would babble off what had transpired he left the room with a swish of his cloak.

Vader strode through the hallways of the Senate, relishing their fear. He would remain formidable, even though he had one weakness. No one would ever dare to think he was becoming soft. Entering his office he narrowed his eyes as he noticed the occupants. Two senators, Bail Organa and Mon Mothma, one Grand Moff Tarkin, and an nondescript man.

With potent fury he rounded on the two senators, “Out of my office.”

The two swallowed nervously and hurried out of his office, but stopped at the door. Vader smirked and turned slightly to face Organa, “Oh Senator Organa, your _interruption_ is making me extend the time period… to a month… that is seven weeks. It would be best to forgo any travel plans you might have had.”

Organa swallowed again, but did not try to confront him. Watching the senator hurry away, he couldn’t ignore the disappointment he felt. It had been a split second, unconscious decision, but he was keeping Leia. He would allow himself to hold on to one selfish thing. Turning to the other two occupants he asked, “Is there a reason for you to be in my office?”

Tarkin stood up graciously, “Yes Vader. I have very important business to discuss with you.”

 

? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ? ﾝﾄﾾ?

 


End file.
